Star Wars producer visits the Ravensbourne HoloPortal

Robert Watts, producer on major Hollywood films including the original Star Wars trilogy, Indiana Jones and 2001: A Space Odyssey, visited Ravensbourne to learn about the Hololens applications being developed at the Ravensbourne Holoportal.

Developed by “holographic experience company” DoubleMe and housed in the Ravensbourne Welcome Space, the HoloPortal is the UK’s first facility which captures still or moving objects, and generates 3D virtual doubles. These can then be placed into virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality (MR) worlds. The process recalls the fictional holographic conferences depicted in the Star Wars film franchise, prompting the HoloPortal team to invite Robert down to experience the recently realised technology first hand.

During his visit, they were able to create a virtual 3D reproduction of Robert, as well as 3D renders of objects from some of the iconic films he worked on across his career. These were then placed in a virtual space where Robert was able to view and interact with them using the Microsoft Hololens headset.

Commenting on the visit, Robert said: “I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to visit this futuristic studio, the likes of which I have never seen before. It shows me that the work I did in the past has led to something extraordinary. I look forward to seeing where the technology is going to take the future of storytelling and filmmaking.”

James Edward Marks, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of DoubleMe added: “It was a dream day for DoubleMe when Hollywood’s Robert Watts came to visit the HoloPortal mixed reality experience playground. Robert has been an awesome friend, spiritual mentor and inspiration for our sci-fi vision as a social-good experience company.”

Find out more about the Holoportal.